104 Answered Questions for the topic film techniques

04/18/19

Does Alex really hold on his breath while he is beaten up by Dim and Georgie?
There is a scene in A Clockwork Orange I'm curious about how they done it. Alex is saved by two policemen who turn out to be Dim and Georgie (his old droogs). They drag Alex to the countryside,... more
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Film Techniques Film Kill Bill

04/16/19

Kill Bill colour changes to Black and White?
In the movie Kill Bill, why does the colour keep shifting from standard colour to black and white? Is it to keep the gross levels down?
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Film Techniques Film Props Jaws

04/16/19

Is a real shark used or is it just computerised?
Can any one tell me, is the shark in "Jaws" real or just computerized? When I saw that movie I got confused. I have also seen Jaws 2.
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Film Techniques Film Production

04/14/19

What is the Resolution of 35mm film?
There is a lot of talk about 6k resolution from the Epic Dragon by RED, and of course there are 4k TVs now, but I'm wondering what actual film, 35mm particularly has a resolution equivalency of, if... more
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Film Techniques Film

04/14/19

Why are zoom shots rarely used?
In all of the movies I have seen in my life, I have rarely seen zoom-in shots used. Most of the time, when the camera moves closer, it "pans" in. (The difference is that in a zoom-in shot, the... more
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Film Techniques Film Production

04/14/19

Why do mouse cursors never align with actors' hand movements (or always move perfectly straight)?
Most of the time when you see a computer screen in a film the cursor always moves in a perfectly straight line.Sometimes you can even see actors moving the mouse, but it would in no way align with... more
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Film Techniques Film Soundtrack

04/11/19

What is the term for that style device when a soundtrack turns out to be heard within the reality of the film?
I believe the initial scene of Eyes Wide Shut is an example for this. I am sure I've heard a fancy term for the use of a piece of soundtrack that turns out to be heard within the film itself. How... more
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04/11/19

How are the Iron Man suit scenes filmed?
In all three movies, you see Downey Jr (as Tony Stark, and occasionally Cheadle as Rhodes/War Machine) in the namesake suit, either completely covered, or with the head open or having the suit put... more
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Film Techniques Film Production

04/10/19

Why are there different audio levels for different languages?
I was watching the Star Trek Into Darkness trailers on Apple's trailer site. I watched the Announcement in English (US) and then the UK and AU versions and I noticed that the background audio was... more
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Film Techniques Film The Shining

04/09/19

Frozen Jack: Actor or Prop?
At the end of the film The Shining, when Jack Torrance has frozen to death, was this shot accomplished by putting make-up on Jack Nicholson or by using a prop body with a face cast in his... more
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Film Techniques Film Dawn Of The Dead

04/09/19

How was this scene with a zombie getting its head cut off by helicopter rotors filmed?
I saw this scene from the movie Dawn of the Dead (1978) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G94NOyLF7U How was this scene shot with the helicopter rotors? How did they ensure the actor's safety?
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Film Techniques Film

04/07/19

How do they film movies that take place in a single season?
Usually it takes more than a year to film a good movie. Some movies take place in only one season. For example, Home Alone takes place in winter. How do they manage to film a two-hour movie in... more
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04/06/19

How are tsunamis crashing through cities and wiping out actors filmed?
In the movie The Day After Tomorrow (2004), there is a city (much like a modern day city) and during a natural disaster; there is a Tsunami that crashed through the city, destroyed buildings,... more
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Film Techniques Film Editing 3d

04/06/19

How are older movies post-converted to 3D?
I went to see Hugo in 3D today, and beforehand there was a trailer for the upcoming re-release of Titanic in 3D. I must say, I was impressed.How much of the conversion to 3D of a movie that was... more
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Film Techniques Film Effects

04/06/19

Would special effects for early movie patrons seem real?
When I watched The Walking Dead on my 1080i HDTV, the special effects looked seamless. In other words, I knew what I was watching was fake, but it was hard to tell. When I upgraded to a 1080p HDTV,... more
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Film Techniques Film 3d

04/04/19

How is 2D movie created from 3D?
There is a lot of 3D movies out there in these days, but they are also released in 2D (dvd, blu-ray, ...). I think, they are originally captured as 3D movies (with stereo camera). So each frame has... more
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Film Techniques Film

04/04/19

What is this type of scene transition called?
Does anyone know the name of the film technique where multiple objects fall into the view of the camera which is pointing up and cover up the whole shot? Specific example is in this clip A Joy... more
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Film Techniques Film Toy Story Toy Story 2

04/03/19

Why do the toys blink alternately?
This happens quite often in the first Toy Story film, not so much in the second (and haven't seen the third yet) where the toys blink one eye after the other instead of at the same time. Is there... more
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Film Techniques Film Distribution Film Industry

04/03/19

What exactly is 70mm print and why does anyone care?
There has been a bit of controversy lately over the release of Tarantino's Hateful Eight movie. As I understand it, the movie was scheduled to play in a particular theater in Los Angeles that plays... more
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Film Techniques Film

04/03/19

Sound of a next scene starts one moment earlier than video?
I saw this several times in different movies, but I don't understand what is this supposed to mean. The main idea is when the scene is about to change, for one second or so we still see the picture... more
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Film Techniques Film Sound Effects

03/30/19

Why do punches sound like a "slap" in older movies?
Almost all of the of the older movies (from 25-40 years ago) that feature fighting scenes seem to have a very common depiction of a punch that sounds like a slap. I could never understand why did... more
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Film Techniques Film Identify This Movie

03/30/19

Film where colour fades throughout to represent dying protagonist?
Ok, I can usually find things using Google but no luck this time!This is a film from around mid-90s I think, but could be +/- 10 years. Male lead, who I think gets a kind of lethal injection which... more
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Film Techniques Film

03/29/19

Why do they always close the eyelids of dead people?
You have seen it hundreds of times in movies. Someone dies and the doctor, priest, cop or someone else, moves their hands over the dead person's eyes and the eyes magically close. It's as if the... more
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Film Techniques Film Effects Breaking Bad

03/27/19

How was the electromagnet scene filmed?
In the first episode of season 5 of Breaking Bad, a large electromagnet is rigged up in a truck, and placed next to a building. The camera shows the contents of the building flying across the room... more
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Film Techniques Film

03/27/19

How is blood coming from the mouth filmed?
This is not like the other questions such as "how are gunshot and head gashes filmed". How are these scenes filmed where someone is talking and some action is going on such as in zombieland and the... more
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